Imprisonment, Trapped Lifestyles, And Strategies For Freedom

Professor Mason Durie, School of Maori Studies, Massey University

E Moke, tena koe nau I timatanga ai ta tatou nei hui I te ata nei, otira, ki a koutou katoa, a, tena tatou.

Introduction

 Five broad themes tend to emerge in any discussion of Maori imprisonment.  The first inevitably revolves around offending and its consequences - the high proportion of Maori inmates, prison environments and programmes which might be useful to rehabilitation; the second is linked but concentrates on lifestyles which create risk and lead to offending; the third concerns justice and considers Maori imprisonment either as an indicator of the uneven hand of judicial processes or of the law itself, the fourth theme is about identity, including the influence of whanau on human development, and the fifth theme is grounded in the wider arenas of Maori access to society, the economy, and decision making,

Table 1 Themes Relating- to Maori Imprisonment

Considerable discussion has revolved around all five themes and, rather than providing comprehensive cover of them all, the intention of this paper is mainly to draw some conclusions about strategic directions which might be employed to address what is clearly recognised as an alarming waste of human potential.  Despite the title Imprisonment, Trapped Lifestyles, and Strategies for Freedom, the point of the paper is not to make a case for the immediate release of all Maori prisoners, but to suggest pathways which might lead to genuine freedom of choice, and in the process provide avenues of escape from the trapped lifestyles which condemn an increasing number of young Maori men and women.

Maori Incarceration

The high rates of Maori imprisonment are well documented.  A census of 4,935 sentenced prison inmates in 1997 for example indicated that of the three quarters who responded to a question on ethnicity, forty-two percent of females and forty-four percent of males identified themselves as Maori only.  In addition a further thirteen percent of females and six percent of males described themselves as both Maori and another ethnic group (European, Pacific People).  In effect therefore, sixty percent of female prisoners and fifty-three percent of males were of Maori descent; they tended to be younger than other prisoners1.  The Maori over-representation is not new, nor does it appear to be declining.  In successive prison censuses since 1987 Maori have accounted for a disproportionately high of number of inmates and between 1991 and 1997 there was little overall change in the level of representation.  Nor are the disparities evident only in those sentenced; Maori also comprise almost one half of remand inmates.

A similar pattern of imprisonment has been observed among other indigenous peoples.  In Canada Aboriginal Peoples – Indian, Innuit & Metis are twice as likely as non-aboriginals to have contact with the criminal justice system and they constitute one-quarter of the combined federal and provincial inmate population2.  Data from a 1991 report indicated that the national crime rate in Canada was 92.7 per 1000, whereas the crime rate for Indian bands was 165.6 per 1000.  In terms of violent crime the Indian band rate of 33.1 per 1000 was almost four times the national rate of 9.0 per 1000.3   Further, as Native Indians move through the justice system they are more likely to receive a sentence leading to admission to a federal jail, a trend which may be associated with greater involvement in personal offences than property offences.  Once in jail, the length of sentence is generally longer than for the non-Indian prison population, and the most desirable release (full parole) favours non-Aboriginals.  In contrast the least desirable release (mandatory supervision) is more frequent among. Indians.4

A number of innovative programmes have been introduced into prisons not only to reduce rates of recidivism but also to provide more relevant prison environments for Maori inmates and greater opportunities for successful rehabilitation.  In the 1997 census of prison inmates, around eight percent were involved in Maori language courses, many others in personal and social skill developments5.  But the establishment of special units, most recently at Hastings so that Maori cultural values and practices could form the core of the prison environment represented a more ambitious attempt to introduce a dedicated approach to dealing with Maori prisoners.  Appearing to be based on the assumption that offending and reoffending were attributable, at least in part, to impaired access to a secure cultural identity, the programme introduced inmates to customary beliefs and practices and prescribed a modus operandi within which Maori social processes and relationships could be enforced.  Cultural identity has also emerged as a major focus for rehabilitation programmes for other indigenous groups, especially First Nations Peoples in Canada where imprisonment has provided opportunities for a return to Indian culture and values.  Within the process of symbolic healing, participants are introduced to rituals such as the sweat lodge, sweet grass, and the sacred pipe.  The customs have rich spiritual meaning. and upon release, lead eventually towards more active and positive participation in Indian communities.6

Although there are no evaluative studies which confirm the value of Maori cultural programmes within prisons, there is enthusiasm for them from many Maori, and apparently from the Government.  The cultural identity programmes are in line with kaupapa Maori programmes in health, education, social welfare, and employment, and offer not only an environment which endorses a Maori identity, but also the semblance of autonomy and self determination.  Obviously for inmates, self determination is a concept greatly out of step with the reality of imprisonment, but the underlying message has a decree of validity: being Maori provides a value system and a framework for living, which can restore a sense of purpose and positive aim where previously none existed.  Maori prison providers have also expressed some interest in establishing privately run prisons where the culture of the prison, with its demoralising and dehumanising forces, can be replaced with an environment which builds on the notions of positive development and the acquisition of a secure identity.  However, one of the difficulties in promoting a positive cultural identity within the prison environment is that the overall prison culture, even when reformed, inevitably contradicts the values and belief systems which form the basis of a Maori philosophy.  Maori understandings of reciprocity, mutuality, respect for difference, space and time considerations, and the use of Maori language, find little endorsement in most prisons.  To the extent that the special Maori cultural units will be somewhat apart from the mainstream prison culture, they may be more effective as agents for change.  But in so far as they will continue to reflect the punitive attitudes of society, they may well be embarking on a mission which is simply incompatible with the underlying rationale for correctional institutions.  For that reason, alternatives to imprisonment such as Kokona Ngakau deserve greater attention.

Table 2    Maori Offending,

Trapped Lifestyles

Trapped lifestyles have three main characteristics.  First, they involve risk and second they are more likely to lead to offending, marginalisation, and poor health.  Third, for many there is no escape.  While incarceration in gaol is the most visible form of imprisonment, an equally pernicious type of imprisonment is to be found in lifestyles from which there is no escape.  Trapped lifestyles, the forerunners of Maori offending and subsequent imprisonment, reflect a complex interaction of socio-economic circumstances, confused or partially developed cultural identities, individual and collective journeys which have resulted in diminished self respect, and a lack of voice - the lingering effects of colonisation and political oppression.

Maori lifestyles reflect patterns common to all New Zealanders and, in turn, need to be seen within the context of national policies and practices.  Alcohol misuse among Maori for example, has escalated in proportion to changes in licensing laws and an increase in alcohol outlets.  Similarly gambling addiction has emerged as a serious lifestyle risk since the establishment of the Auckland gambling casino, Sky City, under the Casino Control Act 1990.7 Maori are three times more likely to become problem gamblers compared to non-Maori.  The new forms of gambling, (casino based) are expected to lead to greater crime and violence, co-addictions (drinking, smoking,), poverty, worsening mental health.8 

Recreational drug use is another modern lifestyle health risk.  Increases in the use of cannabis among Maori have led to public outcries in two directions.  First, there has been pressure from a lobby group, and some Maori elders, to legalise or at least decriminalise marihuana because use is widespread9. They argue that it makes little sense to regard the habit as criminal.  But others, including Maori health workers, predict that Maori would quickly become the victims of decriminalisation and caution against any liberalisation of the law.  In the light of the evidence received at a select committee hearing, the Government declined to reconsider the legal status of cannabis.  "The legal status of cannabis is not an issue that the Government intends to review. 10 But, realities aside, lifestyles which revolve around cannabis are threatening the health and social structure of many Maori communities and need to be addressed.

Risks of another kind are also apparent from claims to the Accident Compensation Commission.  Maori may be inclined towards risk-taking behaviour as part of an excessively physical lifestyle.  Certainly the rates of sports injury and work related injuries are higher and hospitalisation for motor vehicle injuries is around twice that for non-Maori11.  Motor vehicle crashes are a major cause of admission to hospital for Maori people and the leading cause of death for all males and females aged fifteen to twenty-four years.12  Injuries within the home are a matter of even greater concern. Whanau violence and its impact on Maori children has been identified as a significant health risk and this is reflected in the high numbers of admissions for Maori women and children in women's refuges.  In 1997 forty-five percent of women and fifty-three percent of child admissions were Maori.13  A return to traditional ways of understanding the role of Maori children and a revaluing of the importance of their role has been recommended as the basis for a preventive strategy.  As well, cultural relevance of family policies and the inclusion of Maori perspectives in whanau policies is seen as necessary.14 Te Korowai Aroha and Kokona Ngakau are examples of Maori community programmes which focus on strengthening relationships through whanau restoration and customary approaches to whanau abuse.  Programmes such as Strengthening Families and Whaiora Whakaruru are designed to improve the quality of parenting, taking into account the cultural and other needs of Maori parents.

Table 3                        Trapped Lifestyles

The Precursors to Trapped Lifestyles

Trapped lifestyles are the product of several forces acting together.  They include socio- economic forces, the development of a secure cultural identity, and the effects of journeys which Maori have made, both as individuals and as members of a group.  Closely linked to this last factor is the question of power and the sharing of power.  It recognises that Maori marginalisation is not fully explained by socio-economic disadvantage; another factor is also operating: the position of Maori vis a vis the power brokers in New Zealand.

The groups of precursors are summarised in table 4.

Table 4 The Precursors of Trapped Lifestyles

A causative relationship between well-being and socio economic conditions is well established.15  Generally, where there is greater choice in housing, education, leisure activity, and employment, wellbeing and the chances of positive healthy lifestyles are higher.  Unhealthy and trapped lifestyles are more likely to occur when there is less choice and the poorest and least educated people have the lowest health status in any society.  Maori are over-represented on all scores.  They fill the prisons and dole queues, occupy the low standard-housing and are hospitalised more frequently.16  Moreover the pattern of disadvantage is circular.  Those with the worst mental health, for example, have the greatest unmet housing needs17.  In a similar manner, disparities in standards of health between Maori and non-Maori are strongly influenced not by genetic factors or increased predisposition to illness but by environmental factors, most of which are amenable to change.18   By implication, therefore, gains in Maori wellbeing and reductions in the rates of imprisonment are more likely to come from improved standards of living, than simply from improved penal services.

Access to Justice

While consideration of the prison environment is important, and notwithstanding the huge significance of introducing programmes which will lead to a more secure cultural identity for Maori inmates, the high rates of Maori imprisonment are sometimes said to reflect the impaired Maori access to justice, and even the bias of the law.  Solutions lie not so much in manipulating the culture of the prison as in rectifying the law and improving access to judicial processes.  Maori access to justice is confronted by a range of barriers which block the effective utilisation and uptake of systems that are potentially available and render the justice system unfriendly and distant.  As a result justice cannot be delivered in a fair or even manner.  Among the barriers are those which relate to costs - despite legal aid, access is costly in monetary terms but also in terms of time, transport, and courage.  Cultural barriers too are real impediments and where the written word still plays a subsidiary role to oral communication, such information as is available, is not readily assimilated.  Similarly the relative lack of Maori lawyers involved in legal practice means that there are still too few to bring about any significant change of image to the legal system.  For women the barriers are even greater and confidence in the justice system is low. 19

In The Maori and the Criminal Justice System; He Whaipaanga Hou, Moana Jackson advocated a separate justice system for Maori and the establishment of a Maori legal research unit to ‘foster the study and development of traditional concepts of Maori law’.20  There was little official sympathy for his views but at the Hui Whakapumau, held in 1994 to review the Decade of Maori Development, Chief Judge Edward Durie considered that there was a compelling case for the establishment of an independent and adequately funded Maori agency to formulate Maori policy and development proposals.21   Though he stopped short of advocating a separate Maori legislature, clearly he expected that Maori involvement in legislation and policy development should not be confined to submissions at select committee hearings or ministerial goodwill or round after round of Government consultation; rather an initiating and leadership role based on Maori views and aspirations.  Article 4 of the Draft Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 1993 moves in a similar direction: "Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their distinct political, social and cultural characteristics, as well as their legal systems, while retaining their right to participate fully, if they so choose, in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the State”. 22

Over the past decade Maori protagonists have shown three distinct approaches to the law.  They have challenged laws which were contrary to Treaty principles, sought to extend laws which otherwise ignored a Maori perspective and proposed new avenues through which they could shape laws.  The results have been mixed.  Some laws are now able to reflect Maori values and beliefs.  But their interpretation by judges who have not generally been exposed to the meaning of Maori customary law, remains contentious.  Apart from Te Ture Whenua Maori Act which provides for experts in Maori law and tikanga to sit alongside the judge and share in decisions which relate to aspects of Maori custom law, the judiciary depends for the most part on British case law.

Objections to separate or even parallel Maori systems on the basis that they will confer unfair advantages to Maori individuals fail to take full account of the complex and multiple legal systems which currently exist.  It needs to be remembered that there are numerous examples of laws which do not apply to everyone.  Under the Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 Maori individuals who have inherited an interest in Maori land are not at liberty to sell their interests to the highest bidder; instead they must make the first offer to a hierarchy of 44 “preferred classes of alienees”.  Individual freedom has been balanced by the economic and cultural objectives of retaining Maori land for future generations.

In a similar manner students at all universities are subject to the law of the land as well as to the laws of the university.  Even if off campus, they can be fined or otherwise censured, for bringing the reputation of their university into disrepute.  The same is true for members of the medical and legal professions who are subject to disciplinary procedures from their own professional bodies irrespective of action taken in a court of law.  Nor does the argument that separate or parallel systems will create divisions within society, acknowledge the real and harmful divisions which are only too apparent in contemporary New Zealand.  It could be argued quite convincingly that Maori non-Maori disparities in all social areas have led to dangerous divisions which a single mainstream approach has been unable to remedy.  Maori systems (of health, education, justice, commerce) are likely to reduce (not increase) the gaps.

Table 5   Maori Access to Justice

Access to a Secure Identity

Identity is a necessary prerequisite for good health and wellbeing, and cultural identity depends not only on access to culture and heritage but also on opportunity for cultural expression and cultural endorsement within society's institutions.  Maori are confronted by barriers on both scores.  Too many are unable to have meaningful contact with their own language, customs, or inheritance.  And too few institutions in modern New Zealand are geared towards the expression of Maori values let alone language.  Ethnic identity has assumed increasing importance in the broad mental health field, not only in relationship to positive health and development but also as a key determinant of successful counselling outcomes.  The sharing of cultural heritage, a sense of social relatedness, and symbolic ties define ethnic identity.  A person does not belong to an ethnic group by choice; rather birth23 determines eligibility and emotional and symbolic ties strengthen the attachment.  Ethnic identity can be divided into an external ethnic identity (observable social and cultural behaviours such as language, participation in ethnic functions, observance of ethnic traditions) and internal ethnic identity (knowledge of values and history, moral sense of obligation to the group, affective attachment to the group). 24

In a current longitudinal study, known as Te Hoe Nuku Roa, 700 representative Maori households are being tracked over a ten year period in order to measure their aspirations, achievements, concerns and levels of participation in Maori society and in the wider New Zealand society.  There is statistically significant evidence that Maori resources are unevenly distributed and for many respondents access is virtually denied.  Even though over a half of the respondents are very positive about being Maori and have some access to cultural heritage and Maori resources (positive identities), less than a third actually have a secure identity (competent Maori speakers, regular contact with Maori cultural institutions and networks, shares in Maori land).25

Fewer than one half of all Maori in the study have meaningful access to land, fewer again actually receive a dividend from land and about one third have little or no contact with a marae.  Nor do more than a quarter possess conversational Maori language skills or even minimal knowledge about whakapapa (genealogy) or tribal history.  In other words, because the level of alienation of Maori from their own resources is high, only about one-third of those in Te Hoe Nuku Roa can be said to have a secure identity.

Access to Maori institutions and resources depends on many variables, including the availability of information, personal confidence, economic factors and place of residence.  A secure identity is not necessarily the privilege of rural Maori.  Many urban Maori are confident Maori language speakers, have good access to marae, to Maori land and to whanau.  On the other hand, Maori in rural situations often demonstrate disadvantage in terms of access to both cultural and physical resources.

Whanau

Because all Maori belong to a whanau, the potential of whanau for charting lifestyles and, if necessary modifying lifestyles, is high.  The exercise of leadership and wise management is critical to effective whanau functioning. So too is the creation of wealth.  A wealthy whanau is one whose members obtain full benefit from their resources; they will be able to enjoy the heritage of language and custom; reap profits from land, fisheries, and investments in the wider economy; and enjoy the gains from their own work, the efforts of the collective whanau, and the work of their forebears.  Wealth creation first requires a clear identification of whanau assets: ancestral land, cultural assets such as language; and human capital.  The Maori resource which is least developed is not land, nor maritime reserves, nor forests, but people.  Young Maori men have alarmingly high rates of hospitalisation for motor vehicle accidents and each year some thirty-four or so rangatahi aged thirteen to twenty-four years die through road accidents or suicide.26 Imprisonment further erodes the human resource.  Whether losses come from educational failure, or premature death, or recurrent illness, or life-long unemployment, or one-way journeys with alcohol and drugs, or imprisonment, the effect is to rob whanau of the benefits which can flow from competent, healthy and skilled whanau members.  Maximising human wealth requires substantial changes in attitudes towards younger whanau members, more positive role models, reduced tolerance for risk taking, and more ambitious plans for educational success.  It also requires structural changes to educational systems, and measures of success which take account of Maori aspirations and skills.27

By itself a Maori identity is not an insurance against offending, nor does it offer a passport to good health.  An identity which confines human experience to a culturally safe environment reduces anxiety and enhances confidence in that environment, but creates maladaptive coping behaviours and rigidities which are out of place in a changing, world.  On the other hand, a secure cultural identity derived from ready access to Maori cultural, social, and physical resources, can provide a strong foundation for wellbeing, the more-so if it can allow interaction with the other identities that contemporary Maori must incorporate.

Journeys and Voice

Lifestyles are determined by the past as well as the present.  While socioeconomic circumstances and cultural identity have more obvious and immediate effects, the health status of indigenous peoples is strongly influenced by experiences before colonisation and the subsequent efforts to participate as minorities in contemporary society while retaining their own ethnic and cultural identities.  Colonial journeys may have led to innovation and adaptation but they also created pain and suffering from which full recovery has yet to occur.  When there is a loss of the resources necessary to sustain well-being and a loss of standing in terms of full participation in society and the economy, choice too is threatened.  Maori experiences of colonisation have not been substantially different from other indigenous peoples.  Loss of political authority coupled with loss of resources has led to cultural alienation and loss of heart.  Quite apart from socio-economic disadvantage, political oppression has brought its own brand of disempowerment.  And where disempowerment is felt most strongly, disrespect for the law confers a compensatory sense of power.  In other words, Maori offending is a frequent response to a sense of emasculation.  For the offender there is a brief recovery of power; and, ironically, incarceration provides an opportunity for the power games to continue.  The punishment becomes the cure.

Strategies for Recovery

The main point in this paper is that Maori offending and subsequent imprisonment are related to trapped lifestyles.  And if maladaptive lifestyles are to be freed so that full potential can be realised then change at several levels needs to occur.  Current patterns of Maori offending underline the huge waste of human capital which occurs in young men.  Quite apart from personal suffering and loss of dignity, for Maori, and for the country as a whole, it is an economic cost which simply cannot be afforded.

Table 6 highlights the major strategic directions for change. Of the five strategic directions, the first two could be called healing strategies, since they focus on individuals and whanau.  But interventions at policy and societal levels are also necessary.  Uni-dimensional solutions to complex problems will deliver very partial solutions.  Instead, a co-ordinated set of strategies is warranted.

The first strategy recognises that individuals can make substantial changes to their own lives, provided they are given the appropriate keys.  Breakthroughs come from surprising sources - sporting success, success in a literacy course, religious conversion, a tangi.  But more often than not, progress is slow and depends on being able to provide a philosophy or code of living, which makes sense.  Many of the cultural healing programmes in North America and in New Zealand are successful for that reason.

Table 6       Strategies for Recovery

Change can also be mediated through whanau, by way of a whanau healing process.  In contrast to whanau development, where the main task is to enhance whanau capacities, whanau healing is primarily concerned with the resolution of whanau hurts and the restoration of healthy patterns of interaction.  It involves processes of appraisal, confrontation, deliberation, as well as the reconstruction of whanau values and whanau mana.  And unlike family therapy which often leads to a concentrated examination of micro-communication, and the elaboration of underlying feelings and attitudes, the energy in whanau healing, flows outwards, away from intensity and raw emotion towards shared ownership of whatever problems are unearthed.  Cultural restoration, relationship building and co-operative endeavours become more important than assigning blame, or proving a point, or harbouring smouldering resentments.  While there is no prescribed form to whanau healing, it is possible to construct a framework- within which the key aspects can be identified as a basis for implementation.28  It is based on the philosophy that healing is a collective process facilitated through the exercise of cultural and spiritual values by whanau.  The aims are the promotion of safety, the resolution of whanau dysfunction, reparation for hurt and distress, and a strengthening of identity.  Key processes in whanau therapy revolve around four steps: Whakatau - laying the foundations, Whakawhanaungatanga - affirmation of bonds, Whakatatari - analysis of problems, Whakaoranga -restoration.

Strategies beyond healing activities which impinge on individuals and whanau are also necessary

and have already been noted.  Suffice to say, it is unlikely that there will be substantial changes to

Maori offending or to the assumption of lifestyles which lead to poor health and brushes with the

law, until the terms for Maori participation in the wider society have been addressed. Those terms

must take into account the constitutional position of Maori in New Zealand and ways in which

Maori can participate in a positive way without having, to submerge a Maori identity or abandon

access to both cultural and physical resources.